Michelle Moran celebrates the recent canonisation of Elena Guerra, Apostle of the Holy Spirit, the inspirational religious who wanted to see the whole Church united in prayer like Mary and the apostles in the upper room before Pentecost.
We now have a new saint, who is no stranger to those of us who have been following the history of the charismatic renewal. Elena Guerra was born in 1835, and she was the foundress of the Oblates of the Holy Spirit in Luca, Italy. When Pope John XXIII beatified her in 1959, he gave her the title ‘apostle of the Holy Spirit’. He said: ‘Elena’s message is always relevant. We are all aware, of the need for a continued outpouring of the Holy Spirit, as of a new Pentecost, which will renew the face of the earth.’
It is particularly poignant that Elena’s canonisation took place at the conclusion of the Synod on Synodality-an extraordinary Synod conducted in a very different way. The encouragement was to listen to what the Spirit is saying. The dynamics of the gathering placed great emphasis on listening, discerning, and included roundtable conversations led by the Holy Spirit. I am sure that Elena Guerra would be delighted to see that, 70 years after her beatification, the Church was finally embracing her call for prayerful reflection in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Watch a brief video below of Patti Gallagher Mansfield introducing Elena Guerra:
'Satan's empire will be broken by the Spirit'
From 1895 to 1903, Elena wrote 12 confidential letters to Pope Leo XIII asking him to call the Church back into the upper room, the place of Pentecost. Her desire was to see the whole Church united in a continuous union of prayer in the same way that Mary and the apostles were united in prayer in the upper room before Pentecost.
In her first letter, Elena called for a renewed preaching on the Holy Spirit, who is the one who forms the saints, and in the final paragraph she writes: ‘Satan’s empire will be broken by the Spirit, and God will grant us a long-awaited renewal of the face of the earth.’ Elena had a passionate love for the Holy Spirit. She ends one of her letters with this wish: ‘Oh, if (only), the 'Come Holy Spirit', which, since the cenacle and after, the church has not ceased repeating, could become as popular as the Hail Mary!’ Her message was simple: ‘Pentecost is not over. It is continuing in every time, and in every place, because the Holy Spirit desires to give himself to all people and all who want him can always receive him.’
In 1897, Bishop Volpi, who was Elena’s spiritual director, returned from a visit to Rome. He assured Elena that the Pope had promised that he would do everything so that the Holy Spirit would be honoured. Shortly afterwards Pope Leo responded by publishing an encyclical on the Holy Spirit, Divinum illud munus. At the time, this was regarded as the richest doctrinal treatise about the Holy Spirit any pope had ever produced. In the document, he recommends to all Christians a devotion to the Holy Spirit. He sees this as an indispensable means of renewal for contemporary society, for the family and for individuals.
Consecrating the 20th century to the Holy Spirit
He said it will bring about Christian unity among churches and the conversion of the universe. Pope Leo also introduced the annual Pentecost novena to be prayed between Ascension and Pentecost, with the particular intention of the renewal of Christendom. Clearly an ecumenical theme was emerging. In October 1900, Elena suggested that Pope Leo begin the first year of the new century by singing the Veni Creator Spiritus in the name of the whole Church and consecrating the 20th century to the Holy Spirit. He responded by intoning the beautiful hymn in St Peter’s Basilica, on 1st Jan 1901.
In a surprise of the Holy Spirit, it is recorded that ‘on that very same day’ in Topeka, Kansas, USA, in a bible college, a holiness teacher, Charles Fox Parham, prayed over one of his students, Agnes Ozman, for her to be ‘baptised in the Holy Spirit’. She began to speak in tongues. This event is regarded by many people as a forerunner to the beginning of the Pentecostal movement. It is amazing to see how Elena’s inspiration and perseverance impacted the whole body of Christ.
Elena’s life was obviously very fruitful, but she also had to experience many difficulties. This should give us courage and enable us to hold on in hope and persevere in living our life in the power of the Holy Spirit. May we follow her inspiration and live in the grace of the perpetual Pentecost, continually praying the prayer: ‘Come, Holy Spirit, renew the face of the earth’.